JAKARTA, Indonesia: A pact to combat terrorism will be the centerpiece of up to 10 agreements that will be signed when King Salman this week visits Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Indonesia said on Tuesday.
King Salman, who on Sunday kicked off a month-long Asian tour, lands in Indonesia on Wednesday on the second leg of a month-long tour that would take him also to Japan, China, Maldives and Jordan.
Billed as a “mega trip,” it would be a Saudi king’s first visit to Indonesia in nearly five decades.
Apart from a side-trip of several hours to Brunei, King Salman will be in Indonesia until March 12, spending some time on the resort island of Bali, Ambassador Osama Mohammad Abdullah Alshuaibi told Reuters in an interview.
“We know Indonesia has suffered from bombing and terrorism here,” he said, singling out the Islamic State (Daesh) for its “different ideology” and disrespect for human life.
“We will cooperate with the Indonesians on this field. We can exchange data, we can exchange experience, and we can defeat these people.”
Authorities in officially secular Indonesia have grown increasingly concerned after a series of attacks over the past year blamed on supporters of Daesh.
Islamic schools
Indonesian police killed a militant on Monday after he detonated a small bomb in the West Java city of Bandung. Security officials said they were investigating whether he had links to a radical network sympathetic to Daesh.
Alshuaibi said Saudi and Indonesian military officers are training in each other’s countries to counter Daesh.
Saudi Arabia is aiming to open more Islamic schools in Indonesia, which will teach religion using the Arabic language, and step up the number of scholarships for students, the envoy said.
The king’s visit to Indonesia comes as fringe Islamist groups grow in influence and Muslim leaders take an increasingly strict line on Islamic issues, which is at odds with Indonesia’s traditional brand of moderate “Islam Nusantara.”
The ambassador said the visit could also lay the foundation for developing oil and gas projects and promoting tourism.
$25 billion
Oil giant Saudi Aramco, which has an existing agreement with Indonesian state energy firm Pertamina for a $5 billion refinery upgrade in Central Java, may take on more projects offered by Pertamina later this year, he said.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo is hoping the king’s visit will bring investment commitments worth up to $25 billion, Indonesian officials have previously said.
During his trip to Indonesia, the king will visit Jakarta, the state palace in Bogor, a city south of the capital, and spend the last leg of his Indonesian trip in Bali, Alshuaibi said.
Indonesia will assign at least 9,000 security personnel to protect the king’s entourage, he added.
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